Policemen in Enugu State have arrested a 24-year-old suspect, Mmaduabuchi Okonkwo, for allegedly possessing and transacting in counterfeit naira notes.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement posted on the command’s official X handle on Tuesday.
The statement read, “Police operatives serving in Abakaliki Road Police Division of the Enugu State Command, with the support of law-abiding citizens, on April 10, 2024, around 3pm, arrested one Mmaduabuchi Okonkwo “m”, aged 24, of Mkpologu, Emene, Enugu, at the Old IMT Bus Stop, Abakaliki Road, Enugu.
“The suspect’s arrest is sequel to his alleged possession and transacting in counterfeited naira notes.
“A total of ₦40,000 suspected counterfeited one thousand denominated Naira notes were recovered from him.”
Okonkwo was said to have boarded a minibus and given the driver one of the counterfeited notes.
The driver, however, scrutinised and observed that the currency was fake, thereby raising an alarm that led to the suspect’s arrest.
The statement added that during interrogation, the suspect confessed to paying N25,000 for counterfeit notes with a face value of N50,000.
The statement added, “Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to having paid the sum of ₦25,000 genuine Naira notes to his cohort at large for the counterfeited Naira notes worth ₦50,000.
“He further confessed to having spent ₦10,000 out of the fake notes, remaining the ₦40,000 that was recovered from him.
“The suspect will be arraigned and prosecuted once investigations are concluded.”
PUNCH Online reported last Tuesday that the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre arrested a suspect, Muhammed Zenabdin, for criminal conspiracy and possession of suspected counterfeit $100,000 notes during a raid in Abuja.
It also reported on Sunday that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intercepted a commercial bus transporting N3.2 million counterfeit cash owned by three suspects, including an eight-month pregnant woman in Abuja.
